Wow. I must say that I am incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to volunteer with this organization. I learned so much about so many things and met so many incredible people, it amazes me how much more colorful my life has become since i started at the farmer's market almost a full year ago now! The Iskashitaa staff has made Tucson feel that much more like home for me, and I am really quite sad to be saying goodbye.
This organization is certainly one of a kind and I so so SO hope to continue working with it in one way or another, even though I will be in Phoenix. There is much to learn from what you all do, and there especially is much to learn from the people you help.

1. Wet the rim of two glasses with a lime and dip in the turbinado sugar. 2. Add crushed ice to each glass. 3. In a cocktail shaker, add the mint leaves, limequat slices and syrup and lime juice. 4. Muddle until leaves are broken. 5. Add the rum and shake to mix. 6. Divide between two glasses, top with soda water.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

On 23rd of June, 2015, Niagara bottled water company issued a recall of their bottled water at two of their plants in Pennsylvania. The reason behind their recall was that in their water source the evidence of E. coli bacteria has been detected. Along with Niagara, 13 different companies of bottled water products also issued recall on their projects as well. This turnout of event has spurred the conversation of bottled water vs. tap water, bringing more attention on the benefits of drinking tap water.

It is common misperception that the bottled water is cleaner and arguably tastes better than the tap water. As it turned out, tap water has more advantages than people thought. For instance, tap water has more transparency on its source; managing the quality of tap water involves providing the source of the water, regularly going through E. coli tests, and making quality reports. Bottled water, on the other hand, does none of the above.

So, maybe it is time to drink more from local tap water, instead of buying tons and tons of bottled water. Plus, tap water is eco-friendly, as it doesn't need plastic bottles!

Monday, June 22, 2015

The Food Stamp Program is a
government-owned program that helps provide healthy, nutritious food for
low-income families. On 2008, the US government updated the name of the program
as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), partly because the
previous name was “outdated,” as the program no longer uses paper coupons and
stamps (https://www.azdes.gov/main.aspx?menu=355&id=5206).
Instead, the new version of Food Stamp Program makes use of Electronic Benefits
Transfer (EBT) card that can be used as ATM/debit card in most of the grocery
stores of the country. In case you were wondering, here is how SNAP card looks
like:

Arizona State government is also utilizing
this program, with the abbreviated name Nutrition Assistance (NA). Although
Nutrition Assistance sounds like a welfare program that is only for unemployed
people, but first, it is not a welfare program, and second, as of May 2015, 35%
of the families who are in the program were employed in low-wage jobs. That is,
SNAP or NA is more like a governmental subsidy for anyone who qualifies for the
USDA eligibility.

There are three ways to apply for Nutrition
Assistance. First, there is an online application available on www.healthearizonaplus.gov.
Second, you can download the application form at https://www.azdes.gov/nutrition_assistance/
and fax it to Family Assistance Administration office. Third, you can ask for a
paper application in your local Family Assistance Administration office. After
the application is processed, the applicants go through eligibility interview,
and about 30 days from the application date at the latest, you can attain the
Nutrition Assistance card!

Friday, June 19, 2015

(Reflection from World Refugee Day
Celebration and Operation Streamline)

On
this Tuesday, I went to World Refugee Day Celebration in Catalina High School.
On this Thursday, I went to attend Operation Streamline in Evo A. DeConcini
U.S. Courthouse. I saw people accepted as US citizens in the former event and I
saw people kicked out of the US in the latter event. Participating in both
events, I witnessed the two very different sides of America.

On
one side, US build bridges to accept outsiders who suffer from wars and
violence. The Naturalization Ceremony in World Refugee Day Celebration was an act
of building bridges and reaching out to the refugees from all over the world.
It was a beautiful moment; after a long journey of searching for a home, the
refugees finally have found one. By accepting them as US citizens, the US was
embracing the true meaning of diversity.

One
the other side, US build walls to expel outsiders and put up a barricade to
keep them away. Operation Streamline was a process of building walls against
the “illegal aliens” (an actual term people use to describe undocumented
immigrants) to prevent them from entering the US. By sentencing them of months
in prison and deporting them, the US was solidifying the division between
insiders and outsiders.

Walls
divide. Walls discriminate. Whether it is an actual wall like the humongous
border wall between US-Mexico, or an imaginative wall like glass ceilings
against minorities, the more walls we build, the deeper the segregation gets. Our
tendency to ostracize outsiders has laid numerous problems such as racial
profiling, discrimination against immigrants and refugees, and social
alienation of the colored. And I blame the walls we set for discrimination against
the underdogs that perpetuates our society.

“It
is time to build the bridges,” said Dr. H. T. Sanchez in the opening remarks of
World Refugee Day Celebration. And I can’t agree more—if diversity is what
keeps the United States strong, it needs to accept people with different wisdom
and cultures with open arms, as opposed to building walls and militarizing
borders.

The discourse of
insider vs. outsider never gets old; it is a problem that is too pervasive that
most people overlook and grow desensitized. Yet if we keep strive to bring up
the absurdity of discrimination against outsiders and build more bridges
instead of setting walls up, I believe that that the day when everybody can
appreciate the value of diversity will come. With more bridge-building, people
from all over the world can make this country richer and more prosperous.